Dark Warnings
by DreamingOfEscape
Summary: Stanton has been having dreams about Melantha lately. She’s trying to warn him of something dangerous that’s coming. Will Stanton believe these dreams are real before it’s too late? Sequel to Unknown Intentions
1. Chapter 1

I sat on the beach watching the tide come in. The night was bright and it was a new moon. The waves were crashing loudly and the beach was deserted.

As I looked out into the open sea I could see a bright light glowing. I squinted my eyes and tried to focus. I could barely make it out but there was definitely someone out there.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes. It looked like they were walking on the water. As the figure got closer I heard a whisper in my head, "_Stanton_"

I quickly stood and looked around. The voice sounded strangely familiar. I knew I had heard it somewhere before.

I looked back out into the ocean. The figure was distinguishable now. It was a girl, with long flowing black hair. She was wearing a white robe that billowed in the wind.

I looked back behind me. It was eerily dark and empty. No one was there. I threw out my senses and still couldn't pick up on anything.

"_It's me you dimwit._" The voice said in my head again. I smiled slightly. Now I knew who it was, Melantha. I hadn't seen her for 3 months, not since the night she had died.

"Where are you?" I called out. I really did want to see her, I missed her playfulness.

"_Where do you think? I'm the big billowing girl off into the distance. It's really hard getting a hold of your mind you know,_" she replied sarcastically.

I looked back out into the ocean and watched as the girl became clearer. It was Melantha. As I was about to take a step into the water she yelled, "Don't! You can't touch the water, you'll wake up! I have to warn you about-"

I didn't listen and took a step. The sky and water crashed around me and I awoke with a start.

Dim sunlight leaked into my room. I groggily sat up and scratched my head. I glanced at the clock and realized it was past noon.

This was the second time I had that dream. It was unusual for Followers to have dreams. It only made me wonder if it was real or not.

I could hear quiet murmurings coming from downstairs. I pulled on my pants and walked down there. Other people were there, ones I was not accustomed to seeing.

"It's nice of you to finally wake up Stanton," The cold voice said from the dark corner.

I squinted my eyes and saw her. It was Nokomis, once a daughter of the moon, but now a powerful Follower. She had her own pack that stayed in Oklahoma. She was far from her home.

"True, I wouldn't be here though if it wasn't for you," Nokomis said casually answering my thoughts.

"A hello would've been nice," I replied.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know whether I should bow or not." She snapped back.

We glared at each other and she let a sly smile cross her face. She flung her head to move the hair out of her eyes and stepped out of the corner.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as she stepped closer to me.

"Ah, the stars tell me something's brewing here. I came to see if you knew anything." Nokomis lifted her hands skyward with a shrug.

She did have a connection to the heavens at night. It wasn't with a goddess or anything purely good she just followed her family's old beliefs. They were outdated and forgotten now but she had been brought up believing those things and still did.

"I don't know of anything. There hasn't been anything going on in the Cincti lately actually. Everything has been fairly calm, you know ever since Mel-" I stopped and looked down. I still couldn't believe that she had really died.

"Since Melantha died, eh? So you miss your precious fiancé?" Nokomis said quietly as she stepped closer to me. She put her hands on my chest and let them rest there.

I glared at her and pushed her hands away from me, "You always were such a minx."

Nokomis pretended to frown and backed away, "I wasn't talking about the Cincti anyways dear boy. Something's coming that even the precious Atrox can not control."

I glanced at her and entered her mind quickly. She smirked when I entered and showed me what she had seen. It wasn't much really, just a few stars aligning and some stars disappearing.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked her suspiciously as I left her mind.

"I would expect you of all people to believe. You came from a time more ancient than mine," Nokomis replied sarcastically.

"Well?" I asked impatiently. I didn't have any more time to waste with this.

"Alright, to tell you the truth I don't know. I just don't like the warnings. Something dark is coming, something no one will have control of," Nokomis said solemnly and looked away at the ground. Her other groupies hushed their talking and quietly listened.

"I saw the Ask-wee-da-eed, the bringer of death and bad luck." Nokomis paused as a few from her group gasped.

"What's that? I mean I've never heard of the Askwedaed," I replied trying to unsuccessfully pronounce it.

"Ask-wee-da-eed. It's from Abenaki legends, my grandmother once spoke of it saying it was a part of my long ago history. You know, we were mainly a mixed tribe, but our roots, she said, started with the Abenaki," Nokomis stated with a far away look in her eyes.

"It was said that the Ask-wee-da-eed forewarns death and bad luck. Like I said. Anyways I remember stories my grandma would say of the Apotamkin. He would be like," She paused and looked thoughtful, "He's like the boogey-man. He was said to haunt the woods at night and eat little children if they ever went into the woods without their elders."

I tried to stifle a laugh. Nokomis always did drag on with her stories. If you let her she could tell you many interesting ones. She had been long enough to learn them all.

"Noki," I said soothingly as I used her nickname, "What is your point? I don't have all day to listen to ghost stories."

She came out of her reverie and glared at me, "Well, my point being is Apotamkin was real. He wasn't just a myth. He'd come out every hundred years and feed on the kids who did go off alone into the woods. I think he may be rising. If my calculations are right this should be the hundredth year."

"I still don't understand where you are heading with this," I said impatiently.

"I just thought I'd warn you. Oh and usually when he comes out so do the Keres. Or so I've heard. Trouble is stirring and things are beginning to rise. I believe they're coming to show this new world what fear really is," She replied darkly.

"The Keres are from a different culture, why would they tie into Apotamkin?" I asked curiously.

"Well Apotamkin has survived through many cultures, I just couldn't remember his name in Greek." Nokomis suddenly looked down at her digital watch.

"I better get going. My gang wants to see the sites before we head out tomorrow. See you around tough guy," Nokomis said with a smile and lightly punched my arm.

Before she left she turned and looked at me one last minute and let her eyes linger at my chest. I suddenly realized I was without a shirt. She licked her lips playfully and finally exited the squat.


	2. Chapter 2

I quickly made my way, in shadow form, up the side of Serena's house. By the time I had gotten there it was already dark, and most everybody had already turned in for the night. The neighborhood was dark and silent, almost with a lingering ominous feeling to it. A slight wind blew gently through the sparse trees rustling up the dead leaves along with the scattered pieces of trash.

Thankfully, her window was open, as if waiting for me, and I was able to glide in easily. Automatically, Serena could feel my presence in the room. She looked up from the piles of papers scattered on her bed and smiled as I reappeared in front of her bed.

"I've missed you. It's been so long since the last time I saw you," Serena said soothingly. She moved the papers away so that she could stand up.

"It's been to long, I'm sorry," I said as I wrapped my arms around her. I breathed in her sweet smell of chamomile and peppermint. I missed feeling the warmth of her body against me. It was intoxicating.

"So what brings you here in the middle of the night? I'm sad to say that I'm not the only reason that you visited me," Serena said quietly with a knowing smile.

"There's been some talk," I started.

"Isn't there always? What's it about this time?" Serena sighed impatiently.

"An old friend of mine came to visit. She feels like something's coming. Some pretty bad news," I told her quietly. I wasn't sure how I could explain it to her since I didn't even know what I was talking about.

"What kind of something? I don't understand. Is the Atrox bringing it?" Serena asked me questioningly. She leaned more into me and pulled me closer.

"That's the thing, Serena. I don't know what it is. My friend mentioned legends of her past, evil things, ancient. She talked about the boogeyman and the Keres. You've heard of them right?"

"Yeah, yea Collin has mentioned them in one of his Greek Myth classes. They're the uh… the winged female spirits who bring death and doom," Serena told me after a moment of thought.

"Well she said that they all came out at this certain time. Every hundred years or so. I'm not certain what they're capable of."

"If they come out every hundred years then how come there's no record of them? I mean we've been able to read and write since the past 200 years. Shouldn't there be some type of history on them or something?" Serena asked as she pulled away from me and began to pace the room.

"See that's the thing. I'm running on very little information and the little bit that I have isn't reliable. The only thing I am sure of is that something big is coming. Something I'm not sure any of us can stop it," I replied despairingly.

"I think you need to go and see Jimena, she might know something. Or at least Pandia might." I offered after a moment of thought. It seemed like the best thing to do. Ever since Maggie had died the girls were left with very little resources of information.

Serena stopped her pacing and looked at me, "Do you think that's the big thing she's supposed to remember? The thing she's supposed to help us stop?"

I shrugged, "Like I said, I don't know. Just go see her for me will you? I want you to be safe. I don't think I could stand it if I lost you too." I walked over to her and pulled her close to me again.

I could feel her pull a little, "What do you mean 'if you lost me too'? Who else have you lost Stanton?" I looked down at her and could see her eyes burning with questions.

I silently reprimanded myself for saying that without thinking. The Daughters still had no idea who Melantha, or Melanie as they liked to call her, really was. Their memories had been wiped clear of her dark secrets.

"Nothing, it's nothing. I just don't want to lose you, ok? I have to go now though. I have to go find more information," I said soothingly as I kissed her forehead.

Serena looked up at me sadly, "But you just got here. Can't you stay for just a little while longer?"

I really couldn't stand to see her look so sad, "I guess I can stay for a little while longer." She smiled brightly as I bent down and kissed her.

I sat alone on the beach once again staring off into the ocean. It was another cool and calm night, no moon so I could sit comfortably. The waves crashing so close to my feet, the foam looked hungry and so inviting.

_Maybe if I just take soak my feet. It can't be that bad,_ I told myself.

"Don't you even dare! I did not work this hard to only have you wake up again." I heard the familiar voice say demandingly behind me.

Immediately, I jumped up, "Melantha! What are you doing here? I – I'm dreaming again aren't I?" I suddenly felt so disappointed. I wanted to see her again so bad, only in real life this time.

Even in the darkness her beauty was obvious. Her hair and eyes still sparkled with the same vivacity. I walked slowly to her taking it all in. I still missed her terribly. I loved Serena but everything with Melantha was different. I missed the feeling of freedom I had with her.

"I've missed you too," she said quietly as she reached out her hand stopping right before she could touch my face. I could feel no warmth from her this time.

I leaned in to hug her but she quickly backed away. I didn't understand, didn't she want to touch me?

"I can't, we can't. The dream world is so strict with rules. You can't touch me, or the water. You can't touch anything really, well besides the sand. Everything can wake you up," She said quietly looking around.

"Why have you come to see me?"

"I have to warn you about what's coming. Even the gods are afraid, things are going to change. You have to warn the Daughters they're the only ones who can stop it." Melantha said rushed.

Suddenly a strong wind blew around us almost knocking me over. Melantha's gown flapped around violently. I could smell something strange in the air.

"Oh no! Stanton you have to hold on. You can't wake up now! I haven't had a chance to tell you damnit!" Melantha shouted angrily. In response the wind only picked up in speed.

Melantha actually looked scared her eyes were wide with fear, "It's coming! It doesn't want me to tell you! Wake up Stanton! Wake up or it could kill us both!" Melantha said suddenly changing her mind as she ran quickly towards me.

"I won't let it! This is my dream isn't it?" I yelled back to her defiantly.

"You fool, nothing can control it," Melantha said ominously, until finally she reached and tackled me.


End file.
